Here is the conclusion of this study: The better you understand God’s grace, the more adept you become at receiving and working with that grace.

You are living from God’s approval, not for it. That is the glorious truth.

He has already accepted you in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It is finished. The account is paid in full. And now that God, our Heavenly Father, has accepted you and poured grace out upon you, we respond by living a life worthy of Him. But… we should do it with thanksgiving, not with a sense of guilt, confusion, and anxiety.

That being said, let us turn to a familiar passage. It is, perhaps, overly so, to most of us. However, it is critical to revisit it and understand more thoroughly what Paul is saying now that we have identified the temptations that lead us to frustrate the grace he speaks about so much.

Beginning with verse 4 of Ephesians 2: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Now the famous verses 8-10: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The word grace is certainly emphasized. Try reading the text again, but this time insert some of the other translations of the Hebrew word chesed for grace. (For help with this, see the article in this series called “The Great Praise.”) The concept is amplified, is it not? What a gift! What a good Father!

Receiving God and His grace raises a question.

In Protestant circles, we are repeatedly told that “works” is a negative concept. If so, then why does Paul use it the second time in such a positive way? Yes, you are saved by grace through faith, not based on works—who you are or what you have or have not done. Yet what comes next is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek. Paul says you have been saved as God’s craftsmanship, created in Messiah Jesus to do good works.

Paul uses the exact same Greek word for “works,” and like him, we must learn to hold both truths in a healthy tension. You cannot earn God’s approval. His approval comes by way of His grace. You now work from not for His approval. Said another way, God has rescued you and given you His full blessing because He is alone is faithful. How do we respond to divine faithfulness? We operate out of that loving acceptance, doing good works, in Jesus, by the Spirit. Both require faith.

This understanding sheds needed light on a crucial scripture found in Titus 2. When is the last time you heard this in a sermon about grace? For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (11-14).

Picture the way of a child with loving parents.

A child learns love and grows in confidence through encouragement. They begin to explore their world with courage. We have all seen little children like this. They are eager and curious. They are wonderfully unself-conscious. Sadly, the opposite is also true. If a child is unsure of a parent’s love, they may cling to that parent in an unhealthy way, constantly seeking signs of approval and reassurance. They learn to be fearful.

You must let the words “Our Father in Heaven” sink deep into your soul. You need to believe the Lord Jesus when he says, If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Believe and receive the steadfast love and unconditional grace of your Father in Heaven. Go forth and live well for His sake, with courage and delight as befits a child of God. Do not labor any longer under a sense of “divine ought.” Instead, live in the light with an indomitable sense of “divine opportunity.” God is for us. God is with us. Hallelujah!